October 17, 2012

Garrett says Bernadeau played his best game and Costa seems healthier than when he tried to come back vs. Giants

Wednesday, he put a bullet point on the work of right guard Mackenzy Bernadeau.

“He probably played his best ball game against Baltimore,” Garrett said.

The Cowboys leveled with Bernadeau two weeks ago and told him that he needed to get better. Garrett said the Cowboys were comfortable using the veteran, Derrick Dockery, behind Bernadeau.

Bernadeau responded by helping the Cowboys rush for 227 yards against the Ravens.

“Big part of that rushing attack, big part of the protection that we had against them and having the success that we had on offense,” Garrett said. “And you know, he’s just learning and getting better each and every day. His approach is the right one. There are certainly some things he needs to clean up. We see that on the tape. But he works hard to get better at it, and again, he probably played his best ballgame against Baltimore.”

Garrett acknowledged the impact of a hip injury that kept Bernadeau from practicing in the offseason.

“He missed time in the OTAs, he missed a lot of training camp as well, but I think he’s done a really good job trying to learn quickly and acclimated himself to how we do things here,” Garrett said.

Monday, Garrett said of Costa: “He seems healthier than he was going into that Giants game. I thought he battled well. It’s a good front. Haloti Ngata’s one of the best defensive linemen in the National Football League, and he and those guys inside battled him and the rest of those guys really, really well throughout the game. I thought he played aggressively, I thought he played with good technique and brought a good demeanor to our offensive line.”